[Treatment] Help needed - AHI getting higher

[maryrogers]

Good day and Happy New Year,

I need some help with seeing what is going on with my sleep.  I've been on CPAP for just over 2 years and my AHI numbers have been pretty consistently between 2 - 4 with an occasional 5 or so.  The last month they are running between 5 - 12 with more nights on the high end of that.  I don't know what's changed.

I do have chronic nasal congestion so I can't wear a full face mask.  I'm wearing a Nasal pillow mask.  I tend to sleep on one side or the other, but sometimes wake up and realize I'm on my back.  I'm attaching an Oscar chart from Saturday.  It's fairly typical - neither the worst or the best.

I'm honestly not sure how concerned I should be about the change.  I'm not waking up in the middle of the night like I did before treatment nor am I falling asleep when ever I sit still which I was also doing before I started on CPAP.

What else can I tell you that would help?

Thank you for your suggestions and help with this.

Mary Rogers

   

[staceyburke]

From what you wrote you probably already know the problem is positional apnea. You can NOT help it with pressure changes. You have to stop getting into the position that is cutting off your own airway. 

It is to the point that you need to look into getting a collar to stop your chin from dropping to your sternum. I have a link to collars at the end of this post in my signature. 

The link shows people without using a collar and the same people with a collar and it makes a huge difference. 

You can tell positional apnea by looking at the O and H events - where they are clustered together it shows positional apnea.

[Sleeprider]

i see chin-tucking, which we call "positional" apnea. Start by reading these wiki articles. Many members here have dealt with this problem and ended up with very good results using lower pressure by preventing the chin from tucking.

Positional Apnea http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...onal_Apnea
Soft Cervical Collar http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...cal_Collar

[maryrogers]

Thank you, that was my suspicion, but I wanted to get it confirmed by someone who knows more than I do!   I'll get a collar.